News for the Week of June 12, 2017 – June 18, 2017

INDYCAR testing extra driver head/cockpit protection for ’18 – Motorsport.com’s David Malsher has a nice piece on the extra driver safety elements INDYCAR will test as they work on the universal aero kit for the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2018. Full report at the link. – Motorsport.com – (6/17/2017)

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Ankle injury forces Dixon to left foot brake at Le Mans – Brian Silvestro of Road & Track reports that Scott Dixon’s lingering ankle injury from Indianapolis has forced him to change from his usual left foot braking in the Verizon IndyCar Series to right foot braking in the Ford GT at Le Mans. “Here [in the Ford GT], actually, I can’t use the left foot,” Dixon told AUTOSPORT. “It seems like the way the angle is, how it hits the pedal, seems to annoy it quite a lot, so I’ve had to go back to right-foot braking here.” Full story at the link. – Road & Track – (6/17/2017)

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Nashville street course event being discussed – Joey Garrison of The Tennessean has a great report on a group of investors working on a street course racing event in Downtown Nashville. The investors have yet to partner with a racing series but INDYCAR and IMSA are mentioned as possibilities. Check it out at the link. – The Tennessean – (6/16/2017)

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Lights drivers experience IndyCar test at Road America – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Dave Kallmann has a nice report on Wednesday’s Verizon IndyCar Series test at Road America. Includes quotes from all three Indy Lights drivers who tested for Andretti Autosport (Jamin, Leist, and Kellett) as well as comments about their performance from Alexander Rossi. Check it out at the link. – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – (6/15/2017)

Injured Bourdais not happy with style of Texas race – Injured Dale Coyne Racing driver Sebastien Bourdais told David Malsher of Motorsport.com he wasn’t happy with the style of racing in the Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. “It was wrong, it was bullshit, and I think we should know better than that…If we haven’t proved to ourselves that we can’t do stock car-style racing with open-wheel cars without putting drivers’ lives at risk to a massive amount, then clearly we haven’t learned anything and we’re just delusional.” Read Bourdais’ comments in full at the link. – Motorsport.com – (6/14/2017)

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Trackside podcast 6/13/17 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 6/13/17 is a great listen as always. Jimmy Vasser and Paul Tracy are guests on the show. – 1070 The Fan – (6/14/2017)

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DCR working hard to be ready for RA test – RACER’s Marshall Pruett has a nice report on the hard work Dale Coyne Racing is putting in to be ready for Wednesday’s Verizon IndyCar Series test at Road America. The team plans to test both Esteban Gutierrez and Ed Jones. Full report at the link. – RACER – (6/13/2017)

Four Lights drivers to test IndyCar at Road America on Wednesday – NBC Sports’ Tony DiZinno reports four Indy Lights drivers will participate in the Verizon IndyCar Series test at Road America on Wednesday. Andretti Autosport will use Nico Jamin (Marco’s No. 27), Dalton Kellett (RHR’s No. 28), and Matheus Leist (Rossi’s No. 98) in the test. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will test Zachary Claman De Melo in Hinch’s No. 5. In all cases the current Verizon IndyCar Series driver will also participate in the test. Full story at the link. – NBC Sports – (6/13/2017)

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6/14 Road America test open to the public – “Road America fans and car aficionados are invited to experience the Verizon IndyCar test day on Wednesday, June 14. Anyone with an advance ticket to the Verizon IndyCar Series Kohler Grand Prix scheduled for June 25 will get in to the test session for FREE. Proof of purchase is required. Individual tickets to the test session are $10 and anyone interested in purchasing an advance ticket to the Verizon IndyCar Series Kohler Grand Prix during the test session will receive a $10 discount.” Full release at the link. – Road America – (6/12/2017)

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Monday Musings: Rainguard Water Sealers 600 – The Open Wheel’s Dylan Reynolds’ Monday Musings feature continues with a collection of random thoughts from a wild Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. – The Open Wheel – (6/12/2017)

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Power wins wild race at Texas – Team Penske’s Will Power won a wild Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at the repaved Texas Motor Speedway after a late crash involving Sato and Dixon. The rest of the Top 5 was Kanaan, Pagenaud, Rahal, and Chaves. A mid-race spin by Hinchcliffe after contact with Kanaan and Aleshin led to an 8 car crash that left just 11 cars running on the lead lap after the subsequent red flag. Relive the race with our live blog here. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (6/10/2017)

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“Current but not active” drivers to be used for ’18 aero kit testing – Autoweek’s Bruce Martin has posted an excellent piece on INDYCAR’s plans for the testing of the 2018 aero kit starting next month. “We will have one driver for Chevrolet and one for Honda, even though both cars will be equipped with the universal aero kit,” INDYCAR president of competition Jay Frye told Autoweek. “By current but not active that means they could have competed in a race or two this season but not full time. We will have a list and see if they are available with their other racing commitments.” Full report at the link. – Autoweek – (6/10/2017)

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INDYCAR bid for third engine manufacturer stalls – Autoweek’s Bruce Martin reports INDYCAR’s closest option for a deal for a third engine manufacture in the Verizon IndyCar Series has failed. “We got really close with one recently and couldn’t get that done so the conversation with others continue,” INDYCAR CEO Mark Miles told Autoweek. “The one we were close to is not happening for right now…There is nothing imminent. There are ongoing conversations with other interested manufacturers as there have been.” Martin reports this manufacturer was Lamborghini. Full report at the link. – Autoweek – (6/10/2017)

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RLL “getting close” on plans for 2nd car for ’18 – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is working hard to add a second full-time car for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. “We’re getting close to a fully-funded second car for next year,” RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal told RACER. “Given some of the increased support our team has recently had like with 5/3rd Bank, which is a three-year deal, there’s a lot of momentum to put a second car together on a full-time basis.” Full report at the link. – RACER – (6/8/2017)